Hey, everyone. Just a quick “programming” note. There is now a second TYU Fantasy Baseball League. It, too, is on Yahoo! and has the same settings as the first league. There’s again a 12 team limit.
League ID#: 246409
Password: tyu
So, join on up and enjoy!
Last week, I wrote a post about aversive racism in sports analysis. In the post, I provided an example in the perceived effort levels of Dustin Pedroia and Robinson Cano, and suggested that it is almost impossible for us to judge whether a player cares and is giving his all. Mets pitcher John Maine, in an interview with Matt Cerrone, touched on this same issue:
John Maine: I think, especially here in New York, you see a lot of negative things in the papers and you see a lot of negative things from the fans. I personally don’t mind it, I know they want to win… But, they’ve got to realize that we want to win too. We are not going out there to try and lose. We are not going out there to try to give up a home run. We are not trying to boot balls. We’re not trying to lose 100 games. We are out there to try and win too. Even if somebody has a bad week or a bad month, it’s not a reflection on their personality. They are good guys and we are out there busting our butts. Sometimes it’s just doesn’t happen… We are out there trying to win for us and the fans.
Matthew Cerrone: I notice some fans who feel certain players don’t try hard enough…
John Maine: Try harder? Why don’t I try to maybe throw harder? That makes no sense. We do care.
Maine is speaking very strongly here while emphasizing a point that was discussed in last year’s RAB article that spawned my racism post. In that article, Joe built off the following two quotes, one from a post I had written, and one from RJ Anderson of DRays Bay. Here is mine:
Unless a player is obviously dogging it, it is impossible to discern whether a player is giving his all by watching on television. We can try and interpret the events on the field, but ultimately, we just do not have enough information about the player’s level of preparation, will to improve, or willingness to try new things. Usually, a player who is not performing or is making the same errors repeatedly is trying to change, but cannot execute. Does anyone truly believe that these players are satisfied with failure on the largest stage for baseball in the world? The assumption should be that the players are attempting to avoid failure unless they clearly show otherwise.
And here is RJ’s:
Imagine practicing an instrument nearly every single day since you were 12-years-old. For more than half your life, all you know is playing that instrument. You play some concerts, some shows at a club, and as it turns out, people like you. The club starts paying you upfront and things look great, but you’ve been doing this for 12+ years. What drives you to continue? It wasn’t the money until recently; it isn’t the fame because you have little. Is it the desire to master the craft?
Upton has put in more hours at a baseball field than most of us will our entire lives. By suggesting that he doesn’t care about the game you’re suggesting that most of his life is irrelevant to him. I suppose it could be true, but why the hell would he continue to play if he hated and was disinterested by it?
All of these excerpts point towards a single conclusion: as fans, we should assume that players are trying unless we have convincing evidence to the alternative. Robinson Cano provides a perfect example of a guy who has been bitten by the propensity for fans to judge a player’s effort by one or two plays rather than looking at his entire profile. He is a guy who has gotten a reputation for being lazy despite constantly showing willingness to work on his craft during his “free time.” Cano certainly cares, yet any instance in a 162 game season where it does not look like he is giving every ounce of energy to beat out a ground ball serves to reinforce this false reputation.
I am not suggesting that every player goes all out on every play, because that is simply not a realistic expectation. It is possible, and likely, that a player will have days where he is just not feeling it and simply cannot reach down and find an extra bit of energy to help the team. But to conclude that there are players who are generally lazy or do not care based upon the little information that we can glean from our couches seems irresponsible to me. As Maine stated, they do care.
Do you agree? Are you more confident in our abilities to judge effort? Chime in below.
It’s for real this time. According to Chico Harlan, the Nationals have agreed to a $2 million, one-year deal with Chien-Ming Wang. He can earn an additional $3 million in incentives. Washington is set to unveil Wang on Friday, in Florida, at Space Coast Stadium. Wang’s pinstriped career ends with a 55-26 record, a 4.16 ERA, 3.99 FIP, two 19-win seasons, and a second place finish in the 2006 Cy Young voting. Good luck in Washington, Wanger.
Recently, many have wondered why the Detroit Tigers would spend money on Johnny Damon after they traded Curtis Granderson due to supposed salary concerns. It makes you question whether or not Granderson was, in fact, sent to New York for that reason (maybe there was another issue that forced Detroit’s hand). However, from Lynn Henning of the Detroit News we learn that Detroit likely did trade Granderson mainly for payroll reasons, as the organization had hoped to alter its spending this winter. Henning writes that owner Mike Ilitch, going into 2010, had planned to employ greater budgetary discipline so as to “prune” payroll. The Granderson trade, as well as the decision to not offer arbitration to Placido Polanco, who later signed with Philly, were indications of this strategy. But, as Henning notes, Ilitch has since grown “nervous” regarding the offensive capabilities of his team, and this has led to a “revised” line of thinking. As seen by their interest in Johnny Damon, the club’s stance from December to February has “softened.”
Now that Detroit is seemingly prepared to spend more than they had originally hoped to spend this season, it makes you wonder whether or not the Yankees “got away with one” with the Curtis Granderson acquisition. Today, if Brian Cashman were to approach Detroit’s GM, Dave Dombrowski, about the young center fielder, perhaps he would not be named as an available piece. In fact, when you consider that the Tigers’ division rival, the Twins, had a productive offseason, which is partly why Detroit is compelled to sign Damon, trading Granderson seems even more unlikely.
Photo by Getty Images
The Yankee blogosphere has been buzzing lately with the news that Curtis Granderson has agreed to move to left field if the club asks him to. This is a move that we have discussed extensively here at TYU, with most of the writers advocating the club putting the better defender, Gardner, in center field. I have been a bit more hesitant, agreeing with Rob Neyer that practical concerns and the chance of a Gardner flop make the switch a bad idea. Dave Cameron, however, has a different perspective that may be the definitive view on the subject:
Whether you have Brett Gardner in left and Granderson in center or vice versa, the overall impact on the Yankees will be so minor as to not be worth the discussion.
Gardner may actually be the better defender at this point, and we have been conditioned to believe that the best defensive outfielder should play center, as he will have more opportunities to flag down balls than either of the corner outfielders. But if you have two guys who can capably handle center field (as the Yankees now do), it isn’t all that important which one ends up in CF……
The total difference in defensive performance between the two alignments is simply the drop in value in right-center balls caught minus the rise in value in left field line balls caught. We’re talking about a marginal difference on just a handful of balls in play over a full season. We’re talking about fractions of a run.
Cameron then goes on to suggest the Yankees go with Granderson in center simply to avoid the inevitable media attention should he be moved. Quite frankly, this is a point that I made when this discussion was first raised, and I continue to believe that it is the most logical course of action. Unless Granderson shows that he has inexplicably experienced a steep decline defensively, the difference between the two players is simply too small to justify moving the better player out of his spot. I would say that there is a decent chance that Brett Gardner is not the Yankee center fielder in 2011. Why mess with Granderson simply to save “fractions of a run” in 2010?
Agree? Disagree? Chime in below.
We authors here at TYU all seem to bring something different to the proverbial table. Moshe grinds out meaningful posts that are well developed and thought provoking. E.J. does the prospect thing. Steve likes to touch on the “hot button” issues of Yankee-land. Chris and I delve into a more analytical realm. Of course, we all reach across “genres” and touch on all of these things. Like we who write about them, each of the Yankee hitters brings his own special skills to the plate and the field.
Jorge Posada
Let’s kick it off with the man behind the plate: Jorge Posada. It’s my contention that Jorge is one of the most underrated players of the last twenty years. His offense out of the catcher’s spot has been both consistent and at a high level for 15 years and aside from Mike Piazza, he has been the finest offensive catcher in the game (Joe Mauer will take this title shortly, but Posada’s done it for a long time). Anyway, that’s enough gushing. Jorge’s value, like many Yankees, comes from patience and power. His .277 average is quite average, but his .379 OBP is more than solid and his .480 SLG is good for anyone, let a lone a catcher.
Mark Teixeira
It’s hard to think of something Mark doesn’t do well. He plays solid defense. He’s a good contact hitter (.290 career batting average). He’s patient at the plate (.373 career OBP, 80 walks per 162 games). He’s got great power (.545 SLG, .255 IsoP, 80 XBH per 162). Basically, Tex is arguably the most well-rounded player on the Yankees. Teixeira brings value to the team in a big variety of ways and I speak for all Yankee fans when I say I’m incredibly happy he is on the team.
Robinson Cano
Robbie Cano is a player with incredible talent, and is probably the third best second baseman in baseball–I give Pedroia the edge over Cano because Rogaine’s defense is better–but there are hols in his game. His defense is flashy at times, but awful at others. His lack of on base skills is also a bit frustrating (.033 IsoD, 4.2% BB%, average is around 9%). Cano, however, does two things very well: he hits for average (.306 career BA, 11.7 career K%, league average is about 20%) and hit for power (.480 career SLG, .173 IsoP, league average is about .155). If you’re looking for a patient hitter to work walks, Cano isn’t your guy. However, if you’re looking for a guy who’s gonna make a lot of contact and hit the ball real hard when he does make contact, look no further than Robbie.
Alex Rodriguez
A-Rod is like Tex. He does everything well. He may strike out a bit, 130 per 162, but he still hits for a high average at .302, gets on base at a .390 clip (.401 since joining the Yankees). Alex mashes the ball, with a career .576 SLG and .204 IsoP, with a 162 game average of 79 XBH, and 583 home runs in his career. Alex’s defense has taken a down turn in the last few years, but his offense cannot be overlooked. He’s one of the top hitters in the game and it’s quite clear from where his value comes.
Derek Jeter
Derek Jeter is the more patient, but slightly less powerful, version of Robinson Cano. His defense is so-so (though it was sparkling in ’09), but his offense, especially relative to his position, is dreamy. A career .317/.388/.459 hitter, the Captain is good for around 200 hits and 70 walks per season. Like Teixeira and Rodriguez–but with lesser power and more contact–Jeter does everything well.
Brett Gardner
In a word: speed. Gardner’s speed is what will give him value to the team in 2010 and beyond. His on-base skills were very good in the minors, but they haven’t been great at the major league level. If he can keep his OBP where he kept it last year–between .340 and .350–then his speed will be incredibly valuable because he’ll be on base enough for his steals to matter. His lack of power, though, makes it seem possible that pitchers will simply challenge Brett and not allow him to reach via the walk.
Curtis Granderson
Curtis’s best feature is his power. His career slugging percentage is .484 and his IsoP is .212. Curtis does have a bit of a hole in his swing–149 strikeouts per 162–but he walks at a decent clip: .344 OBP, 67 BBs/162, 9.5% career BB%. If Curtis’s BABIP can rebound (.321 career, .275 in ’09), and he continues to hit for power and walk at an average rate, Curtis’s offense will be quite valuable in 2010.
Nick Swisher
Disclaimer: I love Nick Swisher. Anyway, whenever discussing Nick Swisher–or players like him–with casual fans, I lead off with this: if you like players that hit for high batting averages, Nick Swisher is not gonna be a guy you like. Nick is never going to hit .300. What Nick is going to do, however, is still valuable: he walks a lot and he hits for a lot of power. Swisher’s career BA is a lowly .245 but his career on base percentage is .357 and his career slugging percentage is .460. That means an IsoD of .112 and an IsoP of .216; those are excellent marks. Swisher’s value comes from his patience and his power.
Nick Johnson
Last but not least is new-old- friend Nick Johnson. Johnson is like the “lite” version” of Swisher: he hits for more contact, .273 as opposed to Swish’s .245, but he also hits for less power: .447 and an IsoP of .174. However, Johnson’s on base skills are supreme: .402 career OBP, 15.6% walk rate, 0.93 BB/K. Out of the two hole, Johnson’s skill set will be invaluable in 2010. Not only will his hits move Derek Jeter around, but his walks will set up more RBI opportunities for the big boppers behind him.
Some random stats on a snowy morning in New York for us to all over-extrapolate upon:
-John Lackey has been awful in Fenway park.
Games-9 ERA-5.75 WHIP-1.665
Obviously, that’s facing the Red Sox. But as a Righty with a career 1.21 GB/FB ratio, he’s going to have to reinvent himself somewhat in that ballpark. Fenway is unforgiving on pitchers who give up lots of fly balls.
-Roy Halladay has owned the Yanks. The Red Sox? Not exactly.
-Red Sox pitchers vs. NYY
Jon Lester: 3.88, 1.377 (8 career starts)
Josh Beckett: 5.33, 1.439 (17 career starts)
John Lackey: 4.66, 1.534 (16 career starts)
Clay Buchholz: 5.75, 1.723 (3 career starts)
Daisuke Matsuzaka: 5.49, 1.561 (7 career starts)
Tim Wakefield: 5.02, 1.433 (33 career starts)
-Yankee pitchers vs the Red Sox
CC Sabathia: 3.29, 1.070 (11 career starts)
AJ Burnett: 4.23, 1.357 (12 career starts)
Javier Vasquez: 4.23, 1.394 (11 career starts)
Andy Pettitte: 3.74, 1.474 (34 career starts)
Joba Chamberlain: 4.12, 1.525 (6 career starts)
Phil Hughes: 7.62, 1.923 (2 career starts)
BTW-If you’re in the camp that thinks Phil Hughes would be better off starting in AAA than relieving for the MLB club, read this terrific piece by Mike Axisa of River Ave. Long story short, after April 26th he can’t be sent down.
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